Most of the time: Yahoo and Microsoft Instant Messaging Announcement -- news for businesses and partners too

A major announcement from Yahoo and Microsoft today, linking Yahoo Messenger with MSN Messenger. Yahoo and Microsoft's combined IM networks: some 275M users.

While this is primarily a consumer-focused announcement it is also a big step forward in the standardization of real-time communications, and will be another breach in the artificial wall between between consumers and businesses.

Notably, this interoperability is based on the SIP/SIMPLE protocols ... the same protocols that underpin Microsoft's Real Time Collaboration products: Live Communications Server and Communicator, and also those underpinning the MSN-Vodafone announcement In June this year.

LCS and Communicator already offered public IM connectivity to MSN, Yahoo, and AOL users, but this announcement covers not just instant messaging, but online presence, Voice over IP, and shared contacts.

This agreement will continue to legitimize enterprise-consumer reach, and will be a big big boost to companies building on and extending LCS platform, particularly those who provide additional security and compliance. Some examples of strong venture-funded companies who buid on LCS:

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